Airship



J. HEPPEL.

AIRSHIP;

APPLICATION FILED SEPT; 26, 191s.

Patented sept. 20,1921.

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UNITED gHs'iuirlasifi.i'ENT lOFFICE.

i YAIIRSHI'P. 'Y

' i Specification of Letters `Patenti.

'.:Applicatdn 'led September 26, yi918. Serial No. 255,763.

' Be it knowny .that l', HErPEIiQai's/ub-Z j ect ofl the Emperor .ofi Germany, residing at Newark, -inthe county ofi Essex and State of. New Jersey, have' invented fa; new `and useful Airship,of which the following isa specifi-' cation.

, This inventionirelates to improvementsin dirigible air lships in which, atmosphericair within each of which'is arranged avballonnet and a means for charging the compartments withVV a ballasting fluid;y

To enable others skilled in the art to more readily underst'andthe present invention, the following specification should beconsidered in connection with nthe attached drawings,

)wherein there is shownthe preferredembodiment of the idea.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views, in which Figure l is a longitudinal cross section showing all of the principles ofthe invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line 2 2 Fig. l and Fig. 3 is a side view of one of the ballonnets.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, reference character l indicates a rigid out-k side framework which may be made up' of rods, girders, etc.,.1nto any desirable shape,

l2 illustrates an air well extending longitudinally from the fore to the aft end of the framework. The kspace between the framework l and the air well- 2 is divided into a Vplurality of compartments by plates 3; each compartment is adapted-to contain la ballonnet 4 which is charged with a buoyant The air well 2 is provided with a plurality of openings 5 which communicate with passages 6 arranged'between the compartments and the ballonnets. Outlets 7 are provided at the lower end of these passages for admitting air between the side walls ofthe passages and the side walls` of the ballonnets.

Suitably sup'ported within the well 2 and application filed Sept.; 5th, 1918,1

driven yin'any desirable. manner, propellers Sai-ranged adjacent the fore and aft ends of the- ;welh Positioned :between the propellers arejvalve membe`rs9 and 10 operated by cables o-r chains'll from a car suspended .be-

n 'eath the framework.

. When itis desired to launch-the airship after theiballonnets` have been charged, the aftvalve l0 isoperated to close the passage `through the air well ,and the fore=propeller` put intomotion. f This forces a charge of air 'underconsiderable pressure, into the com- Y partmentsbetween the walls of the ballonnets,

slightlyJ compressing Y.the latter. When Va suilicientamount of air has-been accumulated ratentedsept. 2o, 1921.

in-,thefcompartments to ballast orcounterbalance. theA lifting effect of buoyant fluid within the ballonnets, the propeller is stopped and the fore valve closed, thereby holding the air within the vessel. The ship may then be moved vwith considerable ease to the outside of its hanger when free from all obstacles, the valves are turned to open the passage through the air well and allow the trapped air to escape. The rexpansion of the ballonnets, together with the suction created withineach compartmentcaused by the revolutions of the rear propeller within the air well, will removeV all of the ballasting air within-the compartments.

Many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely diiferent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained inthe above description or shown in the laccompanying drawing shall be interpreted .as illustrative and not a limitedsense.

` What I claim is f V 1. An air ship comprising a, rigid frame structure divided into a plurality of longitudinally arranged compartments and having Aan air well extending centrally and longitudinally therethrough, bags within each compartment and arranged about the air vwell for containing a buoyant fluid and pockets arranged about each of said compartments for maintaining a charge of heavy fluid within each pocket to ballast the ship,

means for admitting the heavy fluid within the pockets and means for `releasing said fluid. n

2. An air ship comprising a rigid frame structure divided into a plurality of longitudinally arranged compartments andv having an air well extending centrally and 1onl' gitudinally therethrough, bags Within'each gitudinally therethrough, bags Within. each compartment and arranged about theeair Well for containing aebuoyant fluid, pockets arranged about the air Well and between the bags for maintaining a ohargevof heavy fluid 4structure divided into a pluralityv of longi Within each pocket to ballast the ship and vmeans for releasing the charge of heavy fluid. Y

3. Ain air shipcomprising a rigidv framel structure divided into -a 'plurality ofjlongn tudinally arranged compartments'fand havey ing an air. `Well extending 'centrally 'and loncompartment `and arranged about the fair Well for containing a buoyant iluid land pockets about the bagsfor trapping-WithinV the vcompartments ballasting fluid.

4. An air shipcomprising-av rigid framef structuredividedinto Va plurality of longitudinally arranged compartments and -having-an air Well extending contrally 1and'lon- Y gitudinally: therethrough,lbagsvwithin eachf compartment and arranged about the air vvellvfor'containing a buoyant fluid said air Well provided With openings communicating' with the' compartments, air passages ar-H ranged about the bags and within the compartments,..and.means for forcing a charge of air into the air passages to counterbalanee they lifting effect of the buoyant fiuid.

5. An air ship comprising a rigid frame provided r.with openings adjacent the com'- partm'efnts, 5 conduit' 'pipes-4 arranged Within` forcing a charge 'fo'flffai-r from 1 the V-airl yWell into the'conduit pipesA and finally into the compartments andf labout" the said bags to counterbala'nce the-lifting Veifectof the buoy' f v I y `45Y ai'xmy signature ant fluid.- Y

Inatestimony whereof-I inthe presence-ofI two witnesses.

Witnessesa'A e EUGENE WALZ, LoUIs LoBMoYER. l

.th'eeompartmentsfin communication withl V`theopenings-in:thefair'well, and means for 40 l y JEANrnePPEL.;y Y 

